What knowledge and techniques are involved in harvesting honey in autumn?

Beekeeping requires scientific honey harvesting to achieve a higher yield. The honey harvesting methods are described below:

1. Timing of honey extraction

Generally, honey can only be taken out when more than 1/2 of the honeycomb is capped. This is because before capping, the honey is not yet mature, and its moisture content has not yet been reduced to a suitable level. If honey is extracted at this time, it easily ferments and turns sour, and cannot be stored for long.

The best time to extract honey is 3 to 4 days before the end of the honey flow period. Remove all the honeycombs in the supers that are mostly capped and move them to the honey extraction room for a single extraction, saving labor and time. If honey is harvested before the nectar source has completely stopped, it easily causes robbing.

If the nectar source is good, once more than 1/2 of the honeycombs in the supers are capped, they can be taken out from the supers. Shake off the attached @#@255@#@, send them to the honey extraction room, and use a honey extractor to separate the honey. The supers on the colony should immediately be replenished with the combs from which the honey has been extracted.

2. Separating the honey

The honey spinning work is best carried out in the honey extraction room. An ordinary room will do as long as it is clean and has no large cracks; hang a door curtain on the door. Honey spinning requires 2 people: 1 person uncaps the honey, and the other turns the honey extractor.

Before operation, first wash the tools and the honey extractor with water and wipe them dry. Group the honeycombs by weight, with 2 similar ones overlapping as 1 group. Place the honeycomb on a capping receiver, use a steam uncapping knife or a hot water uncapping knife to cut off the cell caps from bottom to top, then place it in the honey extractor and spin the honey out by centrifugal action. When 1/2 of one side has been separated, turn it to the other side. Turn the handle of the machine so that the honey flows out completely, then reverse the honeycomb so that the remaining 1/2 of this side is completely separated, and then change to other honeycombs in turn. Spinning honey this way prevents the honeycomb from breaking because one side is too light and the other too heavy. The speed and force of the spinning should be even and appropriate. With too little force, the honey cannot be spun out cleanly; with too much force, the comb easily breaks.

When the honey in the extractor reaches 70mm, open the honey outlet at the lower part, place a honey filter and a honey bucket, and let the honey flow through the filter into the bucket, so that debris such as broken wax in the honey does not mix into the honey.

Higher places on the honeycomb are easy to uncap, and the caps on lower places should also be gently cut off. After the honey has been separated, use an uncapping knife to trim the higher places on the comb surface flat, so that when it is later added to the colony, the bees will process it into a flat comb.

During the honey flow period, the empty combs after separation can be added back to the colony at any time. If it is at the end of the honey flow period, they should be added to the colony in the evening after the bees have stopped flying, so that robbing is not caused. After the colony has cleared the remaining honey in the combs, take them out and store them for use in the next honey flow period.

3. Storing the honey

After the mature honey has been separated and filtered clean, store it in a large vat or wooden barrel, seal it tightly, and place it in a dry room. Honey is hygroscopic. If the opening is not sealed tightly and it is placed in a place with high humidity, it will absorb moisture from the air and spoil, and small insects can also easily invade and make the honey unclean.

4. Handling the combs

For the empty combs from which the honey has been separated, if the nectar source has already stopped during this period but there will still be a nectar source later, the combs can still be kept in the colony and let the bees protect them. A 20-frame colony can protect 6 super combs, and a 10-frame colony can protect 3 super combs. When the temperature is relatively high, the combs are easily damaged by wax moths. Using colonies for protection is a proper practice.

5. Fumigating the combs

The larvae and eggs of the wax moth hide around the frames and in the crevices. To prevent this, clean the beehive frequently and sweep the bottom of the hive. When the combs are not in use, put them in empty boxes. If the temperature is suitable, the wax moth eggs will hatch into larvae, travel through the combs, and bite the intact combs into pieces so they can no longer be used. Empty combs must be fumigated within 10 days after leaving the colony to eliminate pests. After that, check every 2 months for wax moths. If wax moths are found, immediately use sulfur fumigation to kill the insects, leaving no future trouble. That is, first place 1 empty super on an inverted box cover, put a basin inside, grind 60g of sulfur and mix it with charcoal powder, then quickly place 6 comb storage boxes on top, cover with the box cover, and paste all cracks tightly with paper so that no gas escapes. Before fumigation, spraying a little water on both sides of the combs can enhance the effect. After 1 week, fumigate once more.